21 February 2011

Volvo Cars has provided more information on its V60 Plug-in Hybrid (PHEV), to be introduced at the Geneva Motor Show. (Earlier post.) The diesel PHEV will go on sale in 2012.

The front wheels of the V60 Plug-in Hybrid will be driven by a five-cylinder 2.4-liter D5 turbodiesel, which produces 215 hp (160 kW) and maximum torque of 440 N·m (325 lb-ft). The rear axle features ERAD (Electric Rear Axle Drive) in the form of an electric motor producing 70 hp (52 kW), which receives its power from a 12 kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The car features a six-speed automatic transmission.

The driver chooses the preferred driving mode via three buttons on the instrument panel: Pure, Hybrid and Power. The interaction between diesel and electric power is handled via a control system.

In Pure the car runs only on its electric motor as much as possible, with a range of up to 50 km (31 miles), depending on terrain, climate and driving style.

Hybrid is the default mode whenever the car is started. The diesel engine and electric motor interact to provide an optimized balance between driving pleasure and low environmental impact. Emissions of CO2 (EU Combined) are 49 g/km, corresponding to diesel fuel consumption of 1.9 L/100 km (124 mpg US). The car’s total range is up to 1,200 km (746 miles).

In Power the technology is optimized to give the car the best possible performance; 0 to 100 km/h acceleration time is 6.9 seconds.

In addition to its three driving modes, the V60 Plug-in Hybrid features a number of other possibilities and benefits:

The driver can choose to save battery capacity in order to be sure of driving on clean electricity later, for instance after entering the city. In order to maintain a sufficient battery charge level, the car is powered by its diesel engine.

Pushing the AWD button in the center stack activates electric four-wheel drive. Instead of the mechanical power transmission of the conventional AWD system, the central control unit manages torque distribution to the diesel-driven front wheels and the electrically powered rear axle.

Via the car setup menu, the driver can key in the planned route’s distance (short, medium or long). The control system calculates the balance between diesel and electric power to obtain the lowest possible CO2 emissions for the given distance.

The Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid is recharged via a regular power socket (230V/6A, 10A or 16A) at home or in a parking lot. The charging time depends on the level of the current. A full 10A charge takes 4.5 hours. The time is shortened to 3 hours with 16A, while a charge in a 6A socket takes 7.5 hours.

The driver has the possibility to preheat or cool the passenger compartment during the recharging process. This also means that more battery capacity can be used for powering the car. The pre-conditioning is programmed via a timer integrated into the car’s setup menu or remotely via a mobile phone.

The instrument panel in the Volvo V60 Plug-in Hybrid has been modified to give the driver a full range of information about diesel and electricity consumption, battery charge level, remaining range and so on. It will also be possible to communicate with the car via a mobile application. This gives the owner access to a number of smart features, such as a reminder to plug in the charging cable if this hasn’t been done at a certain, pre-set time.

Comments

I love the range of choice in drive selection for different journeys.
My reservation is with the battery pack, which from the diagram looks to intrude in the boot-space excessively.
That is the peril of adapting an existing car rather than starting with a blank sheet where you can design it so the batteries fit under the floor I suppose.

This one appeals to me: 31 miles would cover most day-to-day driving, which would be mostly carbon free once the solar panels are installed on the house. Just hope the battery pack doesn't compromise interior space too much.

Sort of over-kill, if your going to using it primarily in electric your hauling around that huge diesel engine, I think they could get by with shrinking the batter blow 3 KWh and just making a hybrid. At 124 mpg what does it need to be a plug-in hybrid for?